Van der Waals and Molecular Science

Hardcover | April 30, 1999

The development of molecular physics and physical chemistry cannot be understood without a knowledge of the work of the Dutch physicist, Johannes Diderik van der Waals. His work is the foundation of much modern work on the theory of fluids. His doctoral thesis of 1873 was the first theory ofliquids and gases in which the essential differences and similarities of these two phases were interpreted in terms of the properties of the constituent molecules. In the years since the end of the Second World War, there has been a re-appraisal of the importance of van der Waals's work, which hasput van der Waals into his historic place as one of the founders of molecular science.

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The development of molecular physics and physical chemistry cannot be understood without a knowledge of the work of the Dutch physicist, Johannes Diderik van der Waals. His work is the foundation of much modern work on the theory of fluids. His doctoral thesis of 1873 was the first theory ofliquids and gases in which the essential di...

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Table of Contents

Preface1. Leiden2. The HBS teacher3. 'An exceedingly ingenious thesis'4. The University of Amsterdam5. At the Royal Academy of Sciences6. Scientific work in the 1880s7. An assessment8. The teacher and his school9. Van der Waals and Russian science10. In retirement11. Molecular physics12. Physical chemistry13. ConclusionBibliographyName IndexSubject Index

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`I must admit to being much impressed. Both the life and the work of van der Waals are dealt with in an exemplary way: the authors' command of primary and secondary sources is impressive, as is their understanding of the Dutch social and educational circumstances in the last century. This isone of those rare books that are hard to lay down once one has started.'A J Knox, European Journal of physics, Vol. 18, Issue 5